A Micro-History of an In-Service Teacher Training Programme in Post-Revolutionary Libya
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A micro-history of an in-service teacher training programme in post-Revolutionary Libya A thesis submitted to the University of Manchester for the degree of PhD in the Faculty of Humanities 2018 Benedict C.M. Gray School of Environment, Education and Development COPYRIGHT STATEMENT i. The author of this thesis (including any appendices and/or schedules to this thesis) owns certain copyright or related rights in it (the “Copyright”) and s/he has given The University of Manchester certain rights to use such Copyright, including for administrative purposes. ii. Copies of this thesis, either in full or in extracts and whether in hard or electronic copy, may be made only in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (as amended) and regulations issued under it or, where appropriate, in accordance with licensing agreements which the University has from time to time. This page must form part of any such copies made. iii. 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Further information on the conditions under which disclosure, publication and commercialisation of this thesis, the Copyright and any Intellectual Property and/or Reproductions described in it may take place is available in the University IP Policy (see http://documents.manchester.ac.uk/DocuInfo.aspx?DocID=24420), in any relevant Thesis restriction declarations deposited in the University Library, the University Library’s regulations (see http://www.library.manchester.ac.uk/about/regulations/) and in the University’s policy on Presentation of Theses. 2 Declaration of Original Contribution No portion of the work referred to in the thesis has been submitted in support of an application for another degree or qualification of this or any other university or other institute of learning. 3 Abstract This PhD study focuses on the Libyan English Teacher Training Scheme (LETTS), a cascade-based in-service training programme for teachers of English launched in Libya in 2012 by the British Council and the Libyan Ministry of Education. This thesis examines the ideas and events that led to the decision to organise LETTS, how the programme was set up and managed, why – despite high expectations on both sides – it failed and what future education reform planners can learn from this experience. The study adopts an approach which is not typically used in the field of TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages). Data was mainly gathered using document collection, focus group and semi-structured interviews, and notes from the researcher’s diary. A historical methods approach was used to examine the data and produce a micro- history of LETTS. This was then analysed, together with further analysis of the collected data, and the main factors that influenced LETTS and contributed to its failure were organised into a set of key strands. These strands were then examined and interpreted, with the results used to produce a set of lessons learned from the LETTS experience. The study found that mismatched expectations on both the British Council’s and the Libyan Ministry of Education’s part, along with the former’s attempt to impose a training model onto a system lacking the capacity to facilitate it, meant that LETTS suffered from a series of inherent weaknesses. These, combined with a number of wider influences, meant that the chances of LETTS succeeding in its initial format were slim. Furthermore, a failure by the programme organisers to comprehend that LETTS was on course to fail meant that a window of opportunity to fix the programme was missed. The study concludes by arguing that when organising education reform programmes, planners need to consider a number of issues, in particular partners’ perceptions of the reform and their required contributions, and the suitability of the initiative for the context in question. It also suggests that, if possible, planners conduct a feasibility study and/or pilot programme prior to launching the full reform. 4 Table of Contents Abstract ............................................................................................................................. 4 List of abbreviations used in the thesis .............................................................................. 9 Foreword ......................................................................................................................... 11 PART 1: THE STUDY ......................................................................................................... 15 Chapter 1: Introduction .................................................................................................... 16 Consideration of context .............................................................................................. 18 Approaches to context in past education reform programmes ...................................... 25 Developing an approach to the study ........................................................................... 30 Micro-history: a possible way forward? ........................................................................ 39 What is micro-history?.................................................................................................. 40 Selection of micro-history as the way ahead ................................................................ 47 A micro-historical approach versus a narrative approach ............................................. 49 Features and affordances of a micro-historical approach ............................................. 51 The research questions ................................................................................................ 52 Chapter 2: A data collection approach for the study......................................................... 54 Data collection approaches in previous micro-historical research ................................ 54 Narrowing down my approach to data collection .......................................................... 56 Individual and focus-group interviewing ....................................................................... 57 Use of focus groups in the study .................................................................................. 58 Change over time in the focus groups .......................................................................... 63 Overview of focus group interviews .............................................................................. 64 Use of informal conversations in the study ................................................................... 66 Overview of use of informal conversations ................................................................... 66 Use of individual interviews in the study ....................................................................... 67 Focus of interviews and use of data ............................................................................. 70 Overview of individual interviews ................................................................................. 72 Use of research diary in the study ................................................................................ 74 Overview of use of research diary ................................................................................ 76 5 Collecting documents for the study .............................................................................. 77 Overview of documents collected ................................................................................. 78 Chapter 3: Stages in generating and analysing the micro-history .................................... 79 Overview of the stages ................................................................................................. 79 Stage 1: Producing the micro-history ........................................................................... 80 Stage 2: Analysing the micro-history ............................................................................ 83 Stage 3: Interpreting the strands .................................................................................. 85 Ensuring the study’s trustworthiness ............................................................................ 87 Use of news websites and British Council internal documents ..................................... 90 PART 2: THE MICRO-HISTORY OF LETTS ....................................................................... 94 Background to LETTS: a Sudanese success story ....................................................... 95 High hopes and big visions .......................................................................................... 97 A promising start ........................................................................................................ 101 A few initial complications: teething problems or long-term issues? ........................... 104 The educator training course...................................................................................... 108 The focus groups ......................................................................................................